CHICAGO — A shootout inside a Walgreens left a store employee injured and the other gunman critically wounded in Old Town overnight, according to Chicago police. It happened just before midnight at 1601 North Wells Street.
Police said a man in his late 20s entered the store and pulled out a gun during an altercation with a 26-year-old employee that he knew. The employee pulled out a gun, too, and the men exchanged gunfire, leaving up to 20 shell casings on the floor in aisle 13.
The employee refused medical attention for a graze wound to his chest. Chicago police officers took him into custody as they investigate the shooting and whether he possessed the firearm legally.
Meanwhile, the other man fled the scene in a car that arrived at Northwestern Memorial Hospital a few minutes later. He underwent surgery with gunshot wounds to his head, chest, and abdomen. The police were still trying to locate the black Ford Taurus and the driver who dropped him off.
So far this year, 12 people have been shot in Lincoln Park. The neighborhood had four shooting victims for all of last year.
The most recent shooting before last night occurred in the 500 block of West Wrightwood on September 4. Officers responding to calls of shots fired found a 24-year-old man lying on the street with gunshot wounds to both legs.
Witnesses reported hearing an argument or yelling between two men before the shots were fired just east of Clark Street, but police offered no motive for the shooting.
The store was closed for business as of 7:15 a.m. Sunday.
Other recent shootings in the neighborhood include:
- A man was shot when an argument turned into a shootout in the 2700 block of North Hoyne on August 18.
- A July 6 incident during which a homeowner shot a suspected burglar.
- A woman was accidentally shot on an apartment complex rooftop on July 4.
- The shooting near Lincoln Park Zoo that injured five on June 17
- A woman was shot while riding in a car on Lake Shore Drive when the back seat passenger mishandled a firearm on May 21.
At this point in 2021, there were 16 shooting victims, including eight who were shot when someone opened fire on a party bus near Clark Street and LaSalle Drive.
Lincoln Park had seven shooting victims for all of 2020 and 15 as of this date in 2019. The latter year included two mass shootings: four shot near the lakefront at Fullerton and seven shot in a separate event near the same location.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
